Vedic priesthood

The priests of Vedic religion, known as purohita, are divided into several types:

• The Hotar is the chief priest, presiding the sacrifice. He is associated with the Rigveda.
• The Udgatar intones the hymns for the Hotar. He is associated with the Samaveda.

• The Adhvaryu carries out the actual sacrifice. He is associated with the Yajurveda.

• The Atharvan was a special kind of priest involved with Soma and fire rituals. The word is from Indo-Iranian *athar not attested in Sanskrit (c.f. Latin ater "black"). Later, the Atharvaveda was associated with a legendary rishi called Atharvan.

The division of the Agnihotra among the Hotar, the Udgatar and the Adhvaryu is directly comparable to the Celtic priesthood as reported by Strabo, with the Druids as high priests, the Bards doing the chanting and the Vates performing the actual sacrifice.

External links

• The Asylum of Sarabhanga